The development of a custom-made web application should preferably be done with a partner with whom you enter into a long-term relationship. Not only because it is nice to have a trusted partner, the software will also need to be developed and maintained. In that respect, buying software can be compared to buying a car or a house.
First and foremost, let's say that developing a web application can give you a great deal. However, the fair story is also that there are recurring costs, both in later extending the application with new functionalities and in maintenance. The good news is: software maintenance and lifecycle can, by and large, be planned just fine!Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)
A common mistake made when developing custom software is not thinking about the maintenance that needs to take place from the start. In the first few years right after delivery, little maintenance may be required, but you cannot ignore it. After all, software needs to be updated regularly. As with a car or house, not maintaining it will result in overdue maintenance and higher costs in the long run. Planning the maintenance work and thinking about replacement over time is called software life cycle management.
What does maintenance actually entail?
When we create software for you, we use many different components that support our product. Think for instance of the implementation of our code via PHP, using the Laravel framework and then linked to a MySQL database. Or Craft CMS, the system we use for website content management. Until the moment the entire software has to be replaced -for custom-made products, that's about after 10 years- all these components need their own maintenance.
